LPD 25 honors the
courage of the heroic passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 whose actions
prevented the terrorist hijackers from reaching their destination only to
have their airplane crash near Shanksville in Somerset County, PA on
September 11, 2001. Then Secretary of the Navy Gordon England stated, “The
courage and heroism of the people aboard the flight will never be forgotten
and USS Somerset will leave a legacy that will never be forgotten by those
wishing to do harm to this country.” This is the fifth U.S. Navy ship named
Somerset.

Somerset County is
located in the southwestern portion of Pennsylvania known as the Laurel
Highlands. Most of Somerset County is a high plateau or tableland, located
between the crests of the Allegheny Mountains on the east, and Laurel Hill on
the west. The National Park Service is planning a Flight 93 National Memorial
near the crash site within the county.

LPD 25 is the ninth ship of the San Antonio class, and is named in honor of
the courage of the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed
near Shanksville in Somerset County, Pa., on 9/11.

Over the weeks following the Flight 93 crash, recovery personnel retrieved
more than 95 percent of the airplane's wreckage from the crash site. An
American flag was hoisted on the top of a power shovel or
"dragline" on a hill dominating the area. The dragline had been
used in coal stripping at one time, and the equipment with the flag became a
symbol of the effort.

In the summer of 2008, steel from the dragline's bucket was melted down and
cast into LPD 25's bow stem. Somerset is the final of three ships named to
honor heroes of the September 11th attacks, joining the USS New York (LPD 21)
and USS Arlington (LPD 24), respectively. LPD 25 is the fifth U.S. Navy ship
named Somerset.

"As the ninth ship of the San Antonio class, LPD 25's launch represents
an important success for the entire program," said Jay Stefany, LPD 17
program manager for the Navy's Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships.
"The Navy and the shipbuilder have incorporated many lessons learned and
driven efficiencies into the production, resulting in the most complete ship
at launch to date for the LPD 17 class. I look forward to HII delivering this
critical capability to the Navy."